What is Harlem Ice about? Everything to know

Harlem Ice is a Disney Plus mini-docuseries that narrates the story of colored girls and women coaches at the Figure Skating in Harlem Program. The program has selected young girls from underprivileged communities, trained them to figure skate, and brought them to the national level.

Harlem Ice is produced by Ron Howard and Robin Roberts under their production banner, Imagine Documentaries. The docuseries is executive-produced by an American broadcaster who is best known as the co-anchor of Good Morning America.

All the five-episodes of Harlem Ice will be released on February 12, 2025. The documentary series will be available for streaming on Disney Plus. The official synopsis reads,

Young skaters from Harlem face challenges and triumphs as they train for competitions. Their journey showcases the impact of Figure Skating in Harlem, breaking barriers and opening doors for girls of color in the world of ice skating.

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What is the Harlem Ice docuseries on Disney Plus about?

As per a Teen Vogue article published on February 6, 2025, Harlem Ice is a documentary about young athletes training in figure skating performances and achieving national recognition. The docuseries' themes include racial equality, where young girls of diverse cultures showcase their talent in figure skating, which is conventionally perceived as a white sport.

Harlem Ice features the lives of young students from the Figure Skating in Harlem program, notably Tori, Ashley, Adriana, and Ariyana, who are creating a revolution in the figure skating space. The docuseries acts as a visual journal of the lives of the athletes and the challenges they have to go through to develop their skills.

Moreover, Harlem Ice also becomes the narration of these young girls as they break their barriers from underprivileged communities and achieve success on the global stage.

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What is Figure Skating in Harlem?

Figure skating is conventionally considered to be a white sport, with its historic domination in its events and matches. Historically, figure skating had been out of reach for colored women until when Mable Fairbanks, an African-American woman, broke the tradition and was inducted into the US Figure Skating Hall of Fame.

The Figure Skating in Harlem is a nonprofit organization dedicated to mentoring colored women in the sport and providing them a national stage. It was founded by Sharon Cohen in 1997, who had been a competitive ice skater. As per another Teen Vogue article published on December 21, 2020, Figure Skating in Harlem was created when she was asked by the East Harlem community to teach her craft to a group of young colored girls.

While talking about her beginning days, she said,

“I knew from my background that there were very few people of color who skated at all because it was very expensive and had a barrage of discrimination.”

Cohen added,

“So it was amazing to see, over time, this group get bigger and bigger, [with] these ladies of color who just owned the ice.”

For the first seven years, the program was taught voluntarily before it was established as a formal academy. The Figure Skating in Harlem now teaches hundreds of young girls from the age of 6 to 18 years the foundational elements and artistic discipline needed to excel in this sport.

As per Sharon Cohen, with figure skating, they wanted to help the students identify their educational interests. As per Cohen, the prime focus of their organization is to make sure that the girls excel in their interests and are getting admitted to the best educational institutions.

As per the Teen Vogue article, Figure Skating in Harlem also provides classes in reading and writing skills, as well as math. It also provides additional courses in communications, financial literacy, and leadership development while also covering multiple fields in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.

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All the episodes of Harlem Ice will be available for streaming on Disney Plus. Follow us for articles on the best sports documentary recommendations.